


His Sake, Not My Own

by IDontUnderstandThatReference



Series: Where He Belongs 'Verse [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU of an AU, And a Total Bitch, Anna Is Mentioned, Because I Meant High Tolerance, Cas Does What's Best For His Son, Dean is Very Subtle, Did I Say Forgiveness?, Forgiveness, Happy Ending, M/M, Mending Relationship, Pizza Parlor, Post Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-12 23:40:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2128800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDontUnderstandThatReference/pseuds/IDontUnderstandThatReference
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if, during Once Upon a Jukebox, instead of waiting for his son by the exit, Castiel Novak went to find his seven year old?</p><p>How will the young father react to seeing Dean Winchester again, after all these years?</p><p>And how will Daniel react to the news that after all these years, wishing upon a juke box has finally worked?</p><p>(Requested: Alternate ending to Once Upon a Jukebox)</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Sake, Not My Own

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! Sorry for not having updated when I said I was going to, something was wrong with my laptop, but he's all fixed up now and ready to start posting again!!
> 
> This story starts off in OUaJ, where Cas was waiting for Daniel at the exit of the parlor right as Dean realized who Daniel was to him. Instead of just waiting for Daniel at the door, however, Cas goes to find him. Angry!Protective!Cas and Wow-I-Really-Fucked-Up-Here!Regretful!Dean ensue! And a very confused and sad Daniel as well.
> 
> Yes, you've read the tags correctly; a happy ending! *gasp* One of my stories? Yup! Someone asked for a happy ending to OUaJ, so I complied!!
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this!
> 
> Happy reading!

  “Daniel? It’s time to go, sweetheart,” Cas hears his voice carry throughout the parlor. In his hand is a pizza, small enough for both him and his son to share, yet big enough that there will be enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. In his other hand is a bag designed to hold frozen items, and within said bag is a normal sized serving of vanilla ice-cream with sprinkles. Castiel is at the door, waiting for Daniel to show himself from the back of the parlor so that they may return home and watch a movie (knowing Daniel, it will most likely be Monster’s Inc., not that Cas minds).

            A strange feeling begins to pool in the young father’s stomach as he waits for his son, so he decides to go back to the jukebox and get Daniel himself. What he sees once he rounds the corner that blocks his view of his son from the door surprises him. Well, no, that would be a _vast_ understatement.

            Castiel stands there in shock. He is unable to move, or breathe or make any sound. He can’t snap himself out of his trance until he hears his son’s voice.

            “Hey Dad!” Daniel smiles at his father once he notices Cas’s presence. Cas shakes his head and walks quickly towards his son. He grabs Daniel’s arm in a gentle yet firm grip, and pushes his son behind him. Daniel frowns as he’s moved behind his father, but allows it without voice of complaint.

            In front of Cas, still kneeling on the ground, Dean stares up at the dark haired, blue eyed man in shock. Well, he certainly didn’t see this coming.

            “Cas,” Dean gasps, slowly standing from his place on the floor.

            Castiel is fuming, he’s livid, he’s absolutely _furious_! Why was _Dean Winchester_ speaking to his son?! He’s about to find out.

            “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asks with an icy tone. Dean flinches and behind the young father, Daniel’s eyes go wide. He has never, in his entire seven years of living, heard his father talk like this to _anyone_! Not even Anna, Castiel’s older sister, when she suggested Cas give Daniel up for adoption two years ago. Cas didn’t respond, so she went on a rant about how useless Daniel was and how Cas should have fixed the problem long ago. All his father did was slap her (which made Daniel and his Uncles Gabriel and Lucifer laugh), turn around, silent the entire time, as he gathered their things, grabbed Daniel’s tiny hand in his and said gently, “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”. That was the only time Daniel has ever seen his father act less than civil towards someone.

            Dean opens his mouth to speak, but Cas keeps talking.

            “Speaking with _my_ child? You have no right,” Cas hisses quietly, his voice filled with malice but his face unnervingly calm to keep from making a scene.

            “In fact, you don’t _deserve_ to speak to my son, you understand?”

            Dean’s face goes from pale to red in an instant as he replies angrily, “He ain’t just _yours_ , you know! Besides, I had no idea who the kid was! Had I known, I never--“

            “You never _what_ Dean? You never would have spoken to him? Never would have given him the time of day?” Castiel asks, anger seeping out with every word. Dean sputters, his mouth opening and closing, his face showing just how insulted he was at Cas’s words.

            “Make up your mind, Cas; are you upset that I talked to the kid, or upset that I wouldn’t have if I had known who he was?!” Dean says, loud enough to gain the attention of a few of the parlor’s patrons. When Castiel opens his mouth to speak again, Daniel tugs hard on the sleeve of his father’s trench coat.

            “Dad, stop!” Castiel looks down with wide eyes at his son as Daniel continues. “You always tell me that fighting and yelling will get a person nowhere! So why don’t you guys sit down and talk _nicely_?” The boy’s blue eyes plead with his father from behind his glasses. Cas heaves a large sigh and places his hand on his son’s head softly.

            “You’re right, Daniel. I apologize.” Daniel gives a wide, blinding smile before turning to Dean.

            “I don’t know why you’re fighting, or how you know each other, but I suggest you talk it out!” He says brightly. “We can even eat our food here, right Dad?” Cas sighs again before nodding.

            “Yes, Busy Bee, I suppose we can. Please, go pick out somewhere for us to sit, and take these,” Castiel hands his son the food still in his arms, “We will meet with you shortly.” Daniel smiles again, food in his arms, and runs off to find a table nearby. Castiel turns back to Dean, giving a dark glare, before he follows his son to their seats.

            By the time both adults arrive at the small table located in a quiet corner of the parlor, Daniel has already begun eating. Cas smiles fondly at his son and takes a seat next to him on the left side of the booth. Dean slides in across from them, and the table is slowly surrounded in an awkward silence.

            Daniel takes a bite of his pizza and roles his eyes. “Don’t be weird,” he says after he swallows. “Talk to each other.” Dean chuckles at the boy’s words, earning him another glare from Cas. The blond clears his throat before speaking.

            “I don’t really know how we’re supposed to talk about this with the squirt here,” he indicates Daniel, who gives a confused look, scrunching his brow and tilting his head. “He _is_ sorta the reason why we’re at each other’s throats.” Daniel’s eyes go wide at Dean’s words.

            “I am? B-but, I’ve never met you before today,” the child gasps, looking from Dean to his father, more confused than he’s ever been before. Next to Daniel, Cas rubs two fingers into his temple. Castiel sighs, and turns to his son.

            “Sweetheart, don’t listen to Dean, he’s an idiot. Okay?” Daniel hesitates before slowly nodding. He sniffs and rubs his eyes with his fists, lifting his glasses as a small handful of tears escape from his eyes.

            Castiel watches sadly before reaching across the table for a handful of napkins. “Oh, Daniel, don’t cry,” he says softly before bringing a napkin up to gently catch his child’s tears. Dean watches the scene before him and mentally berates himself. Why the _fuck_ did he say that?

            Daniel, embarrassed at his own behavior, shakes his head and tilts it down. His dark bangs fall in front of his face and he continues to shake his head. He mumbles something, but it’s too quiet for Castiel to catch.

            “What was that, Busy Bee?” Cas places one of his hands on top of Daniel’s head and brushes the hair back, pulling a few strands away from his face. Daniel picks his head up and looks at his father, a broken expression on his face.

            “I said, ‘Anna was right.’” The child mumbles sadly. Cas glances at Dean, who looks confused and guilty. _‘Serves him right, he should feel guilty.’_ Cas thinks. He looks back at Daniel before he asks, “Anna was right about what, Daniel?”

            The small boy tries to stop his tears from continuing, but they fall faster. Through his tears, he tries to speak. “Y-you should have go-gotten ri-rid of me wh-when you had the cha-chance!” he sobs out. Castiel opens his mouth to speak, but Daniel keeps going. “I kn-know it was-was hard when you ha-had me, ‘cause you were s-so young, an-and I know that i-if it weren’t for m-me, you’d be ha-happier, and I know that my o-other dad left ‘cause of m-me too, and a-all your f-friends.” Castiel listens as his son speaks, and he can feel his heart breaking with every word.

            “Daniel, sweetheart, who put all of this into your head? You know I love you more than anything. The very idea of not being your father hurts me deeply, you know this.” Castiel brushes more hair from his son’s face. Daniel gives a slow nod.

            “I-I know… It’s ju-just that, that’s w-what Anna told me…” From across the table, Dean can hear Castiel grind his teeth. Using his right hand, Cas gently lifts his son’s chin so that they’re locking eyes.

            “Daniel James Novak,” he says softly, wiping a stray tear from his son’s face before continuing. “I love you more than anything in this world or any other world, for that matter. You are the most important thing in my life. No matter how you came to be, no matter how people may have treated me for having you and keeping you, no matter _what_ , you will always be my son. Do you understand, Busy Bee?” Daniel nods and opens his arms shyly for a hug. Castiel complies and wraps his arms around his precious child.

            Across from them, Dean feels strangely out of place. Awkwardly he clears his throat. Castiel glares at him, while Daniel just blinks at him from behind his glasses.

            “I’m, uh, sorry I said that, it was… Rude,” Dean coughs after his apology and rubs the back of his neck.

            Castiel gives a sigh. “Dean, just tell me what it is you want,” he asks tiredly. Dean looks at the table top in front of him for a moment. He thinks hard for a few moments, about everything that happened in the last few minutes, and about everything that’s happened in the last few years since he and Cas stopped speaking. A few weeks after Castiel had told him about the pregnancy eight years ago, Dean began to regret his actions. But he had convinced himself that it was too late to go back. Besides that, he probably would have lost all of his sports scholarships (the only things that got him into college in the first place), and he would have been singled out. He wouldn’t have been able to handle that.

            But he hadn’t really been able to handle Cas _not_ being in his life anymore, either. In fact, it made him so upset that he isolated himself from his other friends, and performed so poorly in his games that he almost lost his place on both the football and the baseball teams. He almost lost his scholarships, and thinking back now, abandoning Cas while he was pregnant with Dean’s child, their son, had almost not been worth it. All of the things Dean feared would happen if he had openly been with Cas _and_ they had been having a child together basically did happen. And Dean willingly let it come to be. That’s his own fault, and now… Well, the twenty four year old just wants to see if his ex-best friend will give him another chance.

            “I want… I want another chance, Cas.” Dean says, locking eyes with Castiel from across the table, not willing to back down.

            “You--!” Cas was about to begin yelling, when Dean cut back in.

            “I know I don’t deserve it! Another chance, I mean, but Cas… I think the squirt has a right to know who I am,” he finishes quietly, glancing down at Daniel, who has his face half hidden in his father’s trench coat. _‘He’s had that ratty old thing since high school,’_ Dean thinks fondly.

            Castiel freezes up, looking at Dean with his wide, blue eyes, and for the first time since seeing Cas again, Dean sees fear in his old friend’s eyes. The dark haired man glances down at his son, who’s still staring at Dean inquisitively. He bends his head and presses a soft kiss against Daniel’s soft hair, lingering for a moment, his eyes clenching tightly as his chapped lips are pressed against his child’s head. Dean swears he sees a single tear fall from one of Cas’s closed eyes, and the blond haired man realizes just how hard this will be for Castiel.

            But he’s going to anyways, for Daniel’s sake.

            Daniel looks up at his father with a questioning look on his young face. Castiel gives his son a soft, loving smile, before placing a quick kiss on his boy’s forehead. He may not be losing his son, but it certainly felt like it to Castiel.

            “Busy Bee, there’s something very important I need to tell you,” Castiel begins. Daniel nods his head, and after a quick glance to Dean, who gives a small smile, Cas continues. “It’s about your other father.” The twenty three year old swallows the lump in his throat. _‘I’m doing this for him. For his sake, not my own.’_ The young father thinks before continuing. “Your other father, he… It’s Dean, Dean is your other father,” he finishes softly.

            The seven year olds face scrunches up in confusion until his father’s words register in his head. Blue eyes trapped behind black rimmed glasses lock with blue eyes filled with nervous anticipation as Daniel’s jaw goes slack and his eyes slowly grow large. The boy cautiously turns his head so that he’s facing Dean. Dean, once he sees that Daniel’s attention is on him, gives a small smile.

            Daniel looks back at Castiel, his eyes still wide, but a tiny upturn of his lips tells his father that the young boy is not displeased with his new found knowledge. “You’re not kidding,” he breathes as he looks back at Dean again, a large grin now in place.

            Dean’s own smile grows along with his son’s - _‘God, if that isn’t just one of the best feelings, being able to call him that,’_ Dean thinks- as the boy lets out a small laugh.

            “This is… This is awesome!” Daniel is bouncing in his seat now as he grins up at Castiel happily. Cas smiles back, glad is son isn’t upset. “Dad, do you know what this means?!” the boy suddenly gasps, grinning the entire time he speaks.

            “No, I’m afraid I don’t.” Cas sends a bemused glance over to Dean, who is chuckling at his son’s enthusiasm. Thanks to Daniel’s reaction and mood, Cas can’t find it in himself to be as angry with Dean as he was earlier. He’s still pissed and wary of the man sitting across from him. _‘But perhaps,’_ Castiel thinks, _‘I can be civil. At the very least.’_

            “This mean it worked!” Daniel yells out, his voice thankfully being drowned out by the juke box, making it so only Dean and Castiel could hear him clearly. Cas tilts his head, confused by whatever it is Daniel’s talking about.

            “What worked, Squirt?” Dean asks from across the table.

            “ _It_ worked!” Daniel repeats excitedly.

            “Sweetheart, we don’t know what _it_ is. If you could explain…?” Daniel blinks, confused for a moment before remembering that he never did tell his father about _it_.

            “Well, every time we come here and you give me a dime to put in the juke box, I… Well…” Daniel pauses, suddenly shy, but he soldiers on. “ImakeawishthatIcouldmeetmyotherdad,” Daniel ducks his head, a blush spreading across his cheeks, making his freckles stand out. Cas looks over at Dean with wide eyes, and Dean looks back, just as surprised.

            “And this time, when I put in the dime and made my wish, I ran into Dean… And he’s my other dad. So… It worked!” Daniel looks up smiling again at both of his fathers.

            “Yes, I… Suppose it did,” Castiel says, still sharing a wide-eyed look with Dean from across the table. Daniel continues to smile before a large yawn escapes his mouth and leans heavily against his father’s side, burying his face into the fabric of the trench coat.

            Castiel looked down at his son and ran a hand over his dark hair while giving a thoughtful hum. “Are you tired, Daniel?” All he receives in response is a slow nod as Daniel quickly falls into a light slumber. “Yes, well, you had a very busy day today,” Cas says softly as his son’s eyes close.

            Noticing that Daniel had finished both his pizza and ice cream, Castiel checks his watch and notices that it’s been almost three hours since they arrived at the pizza parlor. Gathering his precious bundle into his arms, Cas manages to rise from his seat. He reaches across the table top to try and clean whatever garbage Daniel had managed to leave behind while eating when Dean stands from his seat and cleans it for him.

            “You look like you’ve got your hands full,” Dean smiled at him softly, and Cas gave a small smile back.

            “We should get going. It’s gotten pretty late, and Daniel has school tomorrow.” Cas rubs his son’s back gently when the boy squirms in his father’s arms.

            “Yeah, uhm, wait a sec…” Dean mumbles, looking around him before grabbing a napkin from off the table. The blond walks quickly to the front of the parlor and says something to the young woman standing behind the register. She smiles and hands him something, a pen most likely, since Dean is using it to scribble something on the napkin. He hands the pen back before walking back over to where Cas stands with their son in his arms.

            “Here,” Dean says, handing Cas the napkin. Cas looks at the folded napkin warily before taking it from Dean and placing it in one of his pockets. He raps that arm back around his son as Dean speaks.

            “It’s my number, and address and, uh, yeah, you know, just in case. Like, maybe, if you need me to pick him up from school or… Whatever,” Dean rambles before Cas cuts him off.

            “I had assumed it was something like that, Dean… The next time we see each other, I will be setting some ground rules regarding my son-“

            “ _Our_ son.”

            “-yes, _our_ son, and if you do not oblige by them, than you will be unable to see Daniel. Do you understand?” Castiel asks firmly. Dean nods his head as the three of them move towards the exit. Once out of the parlor and on the sidewalk outside, Cas and Dean share an awkward silence.

            “Well, goodbye for now, I suppose,” Castiel says stiffly as he moves to walk towards his car across the street. Daniel squirming in his arms stops Castiel from continuing, deciding instead to shift his child into a more comfortable position.

            “Dad?” Daniel mumbles in Cas’s shoulder, his voice heavy with sleep.

            “Yes, Daniel?” the young father asks. Daniel lifts his head slightly, his glasses askew and his nose turning pink from the cold air. Cas smiles at how adorable his son looks, being reminded of a time when Daniel wanted to be carried everywhere by his Daddy and demanded PB&Js for every meal.

            “Wanna say g’bye ta De’,” his son says sleepily. Cas looks up at Dean, who smiles brightly, having heard what his son said. He steps forward and pats Daniel’s head softly.

            “Hey bud, I’ll see you later, okay? Your Dad has my phone number, so you can call me after school tomorrow. How does that sound?” Daniel only smiles dozily up at his other father and gives a small ‘mhmm’ noise in response. Dean chuckles, then hesitates as he considers what to do next. So he ducks his head and gives a quick kiss to his son’s hair before standing back up to his full height and stepping out of Cas’s reach, in case his former friend wanted to strike him.

            “… Goodbye, Dean.” Castiel says as he finally begins to cross the street. Dean watches as both dark haired males approach Castiel’s car. He watches as Cas carefully straps their son into his seat, watches as his old friend smiles so gently at their child that it brings tears to Dean’s eyes. He watches Cas slip into the driver’s seat, and he watches as he starts that car.

            Dean watches as the car drives away, stops at a crosswalk as three teenagers cross, and finally continues down the street and turns. Dean watches until he is unable to watch any further.

            The blond haired Winchester flips the collar of his jacket up to try and keep the cold out. He shoves his hands into the pockets of said jacket as he walks back to his car. He slips into the driver’s seat of his beloved Baby, and while anyone else would have turned on the heat in the car to offset the cold outside, Dean realizes he doesn’t need to. He already feels warm, and he can’t help but think that his interaction with his son and Cas has something to do with that.

            He smiles as he starts his car, happier then he’s been in eight years.

**Author's Note:**

> So super sorry if this came out as terribly as I think it did ^_^'
> 
> Comments and kudos are always <3, so if you've got the time, then please!!
> 
> You are all wonderful!! Tatty bye ^.~


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